Edtech Insiders - podcast cover

Edtech Insiders

Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornelledtechinsiders.buzzsprout.com
At Edtech Insiders, we interview founders, investors, operators, educators, and thought leaders about the future of education technology. You’ll hear from leaders across the education technology industry and learn about all of the important edtech trends happening globally.

Episodes

From Writable to HMH Labs: Andrew Goldman's Journey in EdTech Innovation

Send us a text Andrew Goldman joined HMH in 2024 when HMH acquired Writable , where he, as Co-Founder and CEO, oversaw business and product strategy. Andrew joined HMH as the EVP of HMH Labs, a newly formed division that pursues innovative product development through a highly cross-functional team structure. Previously, he was the Founder and CEO of Subtext, Inc., a collaborative learning company that was acquired by Renaissance Learning. Before entering the EdTech industry, Andrew was the CEO a...

Aug 12, 202454 min

Week in Edtech 7/31/2024: Microsoft Outages, OpenAI’s GPT-5, 2U's Bankruptcy, Instructure's Big Buy, Enrollment Trends, NWEA’s Latest Findings and More! Feat. 2024 Tools Competition Winner: Tyto Online by Lindsey Tropf of Immersed Games

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell, as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week: 🌐 Microsoft’s investigation into service outages following CrowdStrike chaos 🤖 What to expect from OpenAI's upcoming GPT-5 release 💼 Instructure's $4.8 billion acquisition by KKR 💸 2U's strategic moves amidst bankruptcy and what it means for the industry 📊 NWEA's latest research on COVID academic recovery and its implications 📉 ...

Aug 08, 202439 min

90 Million Users Strong: Kevin Leem Discusses the Success of QANDA

Send us a text Kevin Leem is the CFO of Mathpresso , operator of the globally recognized AI-powered learning platform, QANDA, which serves over 90 million users. QANDA provides AI tutors that offer personalized support to students anytime, anywhere, enhancing their learning experiences. The platform also equips teachers with AI teaching assistants to improve teaching efficacy and student tracking. Driven by the belief that personalized, high-quality 1:1 tutoring is the most effective form of edu...

Aug 05, 202446 min

Navigating ESAs with Odyssey: Joe Connor's Mission to Make Education Accessible

Send us a text Joe Connor is the CEO & Founder of Odyssey , a company that partners with state agencies to administer school choice programs. Odyssey currently serves over 140,000 students by helping them access more than $400 million in state funding for education. Joe started his career as a teacher and school leader at the KIPP and Rocketship Education school networks. After working in schools for several years, Joe attended law school where he focused his research on private school choic...

Jul 29, 202450 min

Week in Edtech 7/19/2024: $600B AI Investment Bubble, Karpathy’s AI Assistants, OpenAI’s 'Strawberry', Meta’s Largest Llama 3 Model, US ED Issues Guidance for AI Edtech Developers and More! Feat. Chris Hess of Pearson and Mark Naufel of Axio AI

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and guest host, Claire Zau , Partner at GSV Ventures, as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week 🎙️ Andrej Karpathy’s New Venture: AI assistants for education 🚀 Meta’s Largest Llama 3 Model Launch 🔍 Anthropic’s Push for Third-Party AI Evaluations 🍓 OpenAI’s new AI model under code name 'Strawberry' 💸 AI Investment Bubble: Navigating a $600B market shift 📉 LAUSD's $6M AI Chatbot Controversy 🤖 ...

Jul 24, 20242 hr 53 min

The Intersection of Video, Assessment, and AI in Education: BrainPOP's Vision with Scott Kirkpatrick

Send us a text Scott Kirkpatrick is CEO of BrainPOP , a leading brand in the U.S. edtech supplemental market whose learning solutions are beloved, trusted, and grounded in research and the science of learning. During his tenure, BrainPOP was acquired by KIRKBI A/S, the family-owned holding and investment company of the LEGO® brand. Scott joined BrainPOP from General Assembly, where he served as president and chief operating officer. Under his leadership, General Assembly experienced exponential ...

Jul 22, 202448 min

Transforming Children's Education through Media: Insights from Sara DeWitt of PBS KIDS

Send us a text As Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS KIDS at PBS , Sara DeWitt is responsible for the strategic direction of a dynamic media service that supports the entire ecosystem in which children learn, including parents, teachers and the community. Ms. DeWitt leads a cross-disciplinary team charged with content production, digital development, multi-platform asset distribution, educational product creation and marketing and communications for PBS KIDS, the #1 children's e...

Jul 15, 202429 min

Week in Edtech 7/4/2024: Nvidia's Stock Buybacks, Instructure Acquires Scribbles, Apple Joins OpenAI Board, LAUSD and AllHere Whistleblower Reports, SCOTUS Ruling Impacts US DOE and More!

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week: 📈 Nvidia's stock buybacks expected and rumors on a French anti-trust suit 🔍 Instructure Acquires Scribbles acquisition impact 🤖 Apple joins OpenAI board 📰 TIME and OpenAI content collaboration 📊 LAUSD and AllHere whistleblower reports 🏛️ SCOTUS ruling impacts US Dept of Education 📋 TPS and regulatory updates from Phil Hill Stay updated with th...

Jul 11, 202426 min

Major Announcements from InstructureCon 2024 with Steve Daly

Send us a text In this episode, Steve Daly , CEO of Instructure , discusses the major announcements from InstructureCon 2024 , including new developments in Canvas and other products, the integration of AI features like discussion summaries, multilingual support, and smart search, and Instructure’s plans to support lifelong learners through partnerships with Parchment and Scribbles, enhancing student mobility and demonstrating competencies with rich credentials. Highlights: 📢 Major new developm...

Jul 10, 202422 min

AI Hype and Reality in Education with Ethan and Lilach Mollick

Send us a text Dr. Ethan Mollick is an Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania , where he studies and teaches innovation and entrepreneurship, and also examines the effects of artificial intelligence on work and education. He is the Co-Director of the Generative AI Lab at Wharton . His academic papers have been published in top management journals and his research has been covered by CNN, The New York Times, and other leading publications. His newest book on A...

Jul 08, 202425 min

Week in Edtech 6/26/2024: Prosus Exits BYJU's, K-12 Digital Tool Surge, LAUSD Challenges, Chegg Workforce Cut and More! Feat. Elyas Felfoul of WISE, Arijit Raychowdhury of Georgia Tech and Lindsay Jones of CAST

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week: 🤑 Prosus Zeroes Out Its 9.6% Stake In BYJU’s 📊 New LearnPlatform by Instructure Report Finds Increases in More Unique Digital Tools Accessed by K-12 Institutions, Students, and Teachers 🏫 LAUSD/Allhere issues 💬 Speak raises $20M - US, Language Learning - Buckley Startup Fund, OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures 🧠 MEandMine raises $4.5M - US, Mental ...

Jul 05, 20241 hr 25 min

Rebecka Peterson: 2023 National Teacher of the Year on Celebrating Classroom Joy

Send us a text Rebecka Peterson , the 2023 National Teacher of the Year, is a math teacher who loves stories. Rebecka has taught high school math classes ranging from intermediate algebra to Advanced Placement calculus, for 11 years at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Amid a difficult first year of high school teaching, she found the “One Good Thing” blog. She credits daily posting there to helping her recognize the beautiful and positive experiences occurring in her classroom, which inspir...

Jul 04, 202427 min

The Intersection of Technology and Human Learning with Joel Podolny of Honor Education

Send us a text Joel Podolny is co-founder and CEO of Honor Education . Prior to starting Honor Education, Joel was a Vice President at Apple and the founding Dean of Apple University, where he reported directly to Steve Jobs and Tim Cook and oversaw learning in areas such as leadership, management, and company culture. Before that, Joel served as Dean and Professor of Management at the Yale School of Management. He previously held chaired professorships at Harvard Business School and the Stanfor...

Jun 27, 202455 min

Week in Edtech 6/12/2024: OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu, Google AI Overviews Visibility Drops, PowerSchool's Acquisition by Bain Capital, Alibaba Invests $27M in Education Start-Up, Apple Intelligence, Doowii's $4.1M Funding and More! Feat., Paul Gollash of ETS

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week: 🎓 OpenAI introduces ChatGPT Edu for universities 🔍 Google AI Overviews visibility drops significantly 🌐 Google’s NotebookLM goes global with enhanced features 📱 Apple’s major announcements at WWDC 2024: Apple Intelligence, Siri makeover and more 💼 Bain Capital to acquire PowerSchool in a $5.6B deal 🇨🇳 Alibaba invests $27M in an AI-powered education...

Jun 18, 202457 min

Innovating Math Education through AI with Dr. Jeremy Roschelle of Digital Promise

Send us a text Dr. Jeremy Roschelle , Executive Director of Learning Science Research at Digital Promise , conducts research on the future of learning with technology. Dr. Roschelle is Fellow of the International Society of the Learning Sciences, with >100 publications, 25,000 citations, and 10 patents. Dr. Roschelle serves as a subject matter expert on Artificial Intelligence to the U.S. Department of Education and on the Advisory Committee for Education at the National Science Foundation. H...

Jun 17, 202450 min

Exploring the Role of Open Source in AI with Mark Heaps of Groq

Send us a text Mark Heaps is the Chief Technology Evangelist at Groq® where he leads a diverse team focused on innovative and creative AI solutions with demo applications enabled by the Groq LPU™ Inference Engine . Mark is a longtime technology evangelist who has worked with Adobe, Google, Apple, and others on various projects ranging from digital imaging to AI systems used in some of the most popular applications today. He is passionate about democratizing AI in service of advancing human agenc...

Jun 10, 202432 min

Week in Edtech 05/29/2024: OpenAI Announces a New Safety Board, Anthropic's LLM Mapping, New Chromebooks with GenAI for Educators, Guild Education Layoffs, Microsoft Partners with Khan Academy on AI Tools and More!

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore the most critical developments in the world of education technology this week: 🚨 OpenAI announces a new safety board, strikes a $250M content deal with News Corp, and begins training its next flagship AI model 🚀 Anthropic unveils a new method to map large language models 💻 New AI-enhanced Chromebooks are launched for educators 🤝 Microsoft partners with Khan Academy to develop AI educational tools 📉 Guild Education lays off a qu...

Jun 05, 202444 min

The Next Generation of Leading EdTech Companies with Tory Patterson of Owl Ventures

Send us a text Tory Patterson is the co-founder of Owl Ventures and is actively involved with all facets of the firm. As one of the early pioneers in the next generation of leading EdTech companies, Tory has led investments in some of the most successful companies in the sector. As a lead investor and board member he has played a hands-on role helping leading edtech companies across all facets of development including core definition and measurement of value proposition, sales & distribution...

Jun 04, 202429 min

The Evolution of Google for Education with Shantanu Sinha

Send us a text Shantanu Sinha is the VP and GM of Google for Education. In addition to bringing Google products like Workspace to schools, Shantanu and his team build educational products such as Google Classroom , which helps over 150 million students, teachers and education leaders across classrooms around the world, and new experiences such as Practice Sets and Read Along , that demonstrate the power of artificial intelligence for teaching and learning. Before Google, Shantanu was the foundin...

May 16, 202429 min

Week in Edtech 5/8/2024: OpenAI's Search Engine, Stanford University's 2024 Report on the State of AI, 4 Traits of Successful Founders by Jennifer Carolan and More! Feat. Jason Levin of WGU Labs and Brian Ashton & Van Christman of BYU-Pathway Worldwide

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore pivotal topics in this Week in Edtech episode: 🔍 OpenAI's rumored new search engine to challenge Google 🤖 Key findings from Stanford University's 2024 report on AI advancements and challenges 🍎 Apple's development of AI chips and new AI features in the iPad Pro 🏆 Essential traits that define successful founders, according to Jennifer Carolan of Reach Capital 📚 Concerns on AI in Education Plus special guests, Jaso...

May 14, 202454 min

Building an Inclusive AI Future in Education with Kunal Dalal and Wes Kriesel

Send us a text Today we’re talking to Kunal Dalal and Wes Kriesel , who are administrators of AI and Innovation at the Orange County, CA, Department of Education , where they support AI education and integration for 28 school districts in California. Kunal Dalal merges education and AI, driving human-centered AI integration at the Orange County Department of Education. Educated at Oberlin, Harvard, and UC Berkeley, he's evolved from school principal to headphone entrepreneur to tech educato...

May 13, 20241 hr 4 min

Week in Edtech 5/1/2024: TIME EdTech 100, Chegg & Coursera Stocks Fall, Microsoft's Phi-3, Anthropic's New Mobile App, Penn Engineering's Master’s Degree In AI and More! Plus Special Guest, Louisa Rosenheck of Kahoot!

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and guest host, Matthew Tower , Founder of etch.club as they explore pivotal topics in this Week in Edtech episode: 🌟 The TIME Edtech 100: Showcasing the leaders shaping the future of education 🧠 Microsoft's groundbreaking release of Phi-3, the smallest AI model to date 📱 The exciting new mobile app from Anthropic 💻 Penn Engineering's pioneering online Master’s Degree in AI - a first in the Ivy League 📉 The turbulent times at Chegg following their l...

May 08, 202453 min

Special Episode: Generative AI in Education, Learn from the Pioneers with Ben Kornell of Edtech Insiders, Amanda Bickerstaff of AI for Education and Charles Foster & Steve Shapiro of Finetune at SXSW EDU, March 2024

Send us a text Missed the live panel at SXSW EDU? Tune in to our special episode where Ben Kornell of Edtech Insiders hosts a compelling discussion with AI thought leaders Amanda Bickerstaff of AI for Education , Charles Foster , and Steve Shapiro from Finetune . Since ChatGPT's launch in November 2022, these trailblazers have been integrating generative AI into educational contexts, pioneering new approaches and solutions. Revisit their insightful conversation on the innovative application...

May 07, 20241 hr 1 min

The Credential Flywheel: How Accredible Is Building Tomorrow’s Workforce with Danny King

Send us a text Danny King is the CEO and Co-Founder of Accredible , a global digital credentialing platform that serves certificates and badges on behalf of MIT, Harvard, Google, Skillsoft, IEEE, GMAC, McGraw Hill and over 1,000 others. He founded the company in 2012 with Alan Heppenstall, with the vision of becoming the world's first truly verifiable repository of human capital. Over the years he has built a high performing organization fueled by the belief that individuals should be evalu...

May 06, 202452 min

Student Perspectives on AI with Siya Verma, Sophie Yang and Dev Krishnamoorthy, Research Assistants at Stanford Deliberative Democracy Lab

Send us a text Join us as we sit down with three high school seniors who are Research Assistants at the Stanford Deliberative Democracy Lab . They share their insights on the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and its effect on youth today. In this episode, our guests discuss how AI is currently shaping their lives and education, their concerns and hopes for the future of AI, and their ideas for policies and tools to help young people navigate these changes. Siya Verma of Quarry Lane ...

May 01, 202445 min

Week in Edtech 4/24/2024: Meta's New VR OS Strategy, Anthology Raises $250M, Insights on the Future of Educational Funding and More! Feat., Rebecca Kockler of Magpie Literacy and Kristen Huff & Amelia Kelly of Curriculum Associates & SoapBox Labs

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and Ben Kornell as they explore pivotal topics in this Week in Edtech episode: 👓 Meta's new VR OS strategy—will it create a new tech rivalry? 🤖 The growing role of AI in Meta's apps: innovation or irritation? 🏆 Age of Learning earns a spot in TIME's Top EdTech Companies of 2024 💼 Anthology raises $250M for strategic growth in EdTech 🌱 Insights from the Co-Founder at JuneX Capital Partners on the future of educational funding Plus special guests...

Apr 30, 202457 min

From Memes to Mastery: Exploring Antimatter Systems’ Innovative Learning Tools with Jonathan Libov

Send us a text Jonathan Libov is the CEO & Founder of Antimatter Systems which seeks to bridge the gap between how students learn in the classroom and how people learn in the real world using a suite of modern AI tools for formative assessment, like student-created memes, text message conversations and socratic dialogue with LLMs. Antimatter has recently launched the pilot of their Universe Program, which gives students the opportunity to teach the world and learn how to lead online. Before ...

Apr 29, 202436 min

Crafting Dynamic Educational Experiences: A Deep Dive with the Minds Behind Story Xperiential

Send us a text Elyse Klaidman , after 22 years at Pixar leading creative and educational programs, is now the CEO of X IN A BOX , where she leverages her background as an artist, educator and leader. Prior to co-founding X IN A BOX in 2020, Tony DeRose led the computer graphics research group for much of his 23 years at Pixar. He is passionate about project based learning and has been very active in the Maker Movement. Brit Cruise, Chief Learning Officer at X IN A BOX and creator of educational ...

Apr 22, 202450 min

Week in Edtech 04/10/2024: Nvidia Dominates AI Chip Competition with Google and Intel, Duolingo to Futher Tap China's Edtech Sector, Biden Rolls Out New Debt Relief Plan and More! Plus Special Guests Hayley Spira-Bauer and Ysiad Ferreiras of Fullmind

Send us a text Join Alex Sarlin and guest host, Alberto Arenaza , Co-founder at Transcend Network as they explore pivotal topics in this Week in Edtech episode: 👩‍🏫 The latest in K-12 challenges and digital threats, 📚 Biden’s big moves in student debt relief, 🌐 Duolingo’s strategic expansion into China's booming Edtech market, 🔧 The fierce competition in AI chip technology among Nvidia, Google, and Intel, 🎓 Insights on workforce trends affecting college graduates, 💼 Significant fundi...

Apr 17, 20242 hr 45 min

From Hidden Insights to Deeper Connections: Exploring the Ask Approach™ with Jeff Wetzler

Send us a text Jeff Wetzler has been on a quarter-century quest to transform learning opportunities. Blending a unique set of leadership experiences in the fields of business and education, he’s pursued this quest as a management consultant to the world’s top corporations, as a learning facilitator for leaders around the world, as Chief Learning Officer at Teach For America, and most recently, as co-CEO of Transcend , a nationally recognized innovation organization. Jeff earned a Doctorate in Ad...

Apr 15, 202425 min